I try to exercise on all the weekdays that I am home. Everybody knows that exercise is good for us but it also makes me feel great. Years ago I taught aerobics and weight training and sometimes yoga while I was still living in Portland, Maine, and before that too, when I lived in Blue Hill, Maine. Once I relocated to Florida I did not seek that kind of work because it meant traveling to different gyms or health centers, like the Y, just for an hour or 2 each time. Too much traffic for that. So I focused on my yoga routine which I have put together from experiences in many classes I have attended, as well as videos. There is great value in studying with an instructor at the outset so one learns the correct positions and doesn't develop bad habits right off. This year I decided I needed to get back to some form of cardio since cycling around here is just not that fun with all the traffic and there is nowhere to hike without driving somewhere. So, I thought up my home method: 20-25 minutes of a combo of trampoline jumping (a mini trampolene- just watched a video today on "Urban Rebounding"- a class on mini trampolines-how 'bout that?), hula-hooping (I'm good now- just keep trying, you will get it ), & then "stepping", as in the step aerobics of the past. (I found my step & risers at a yard sale). It does get my heart rate up quite nicely and then I do about an hour of yoga. It is terrific. Another practice I am adding each time is rolling on my foam roller (very firm styrofoam cylinder) which I learned of on emails from Dr. Ben Kim. (He is full of good info, by the way). Rolling the body over the roller can be rather painful in certain areas because that is where we need it. For me it is mostly both hip flexors and my back. It's the next best thing to a deep tissue massage, which I'd love to have everyday if it fit in the budget. If I want to take even more time I do exercises from fitness magazines targeted for certain body parts. I like that I can do all this in my living room. If I always had to drive somewhere I know I would not always get there.
On another note, still sort of about exercise and health, but for dogs, I learned something new recently. Gabe, my New York City son, has a big, handsome dog named Angus. He is a rescue and looks mainly like a Rhodesian Ridgeback. Gabe took him to the beach in Long Island last weekend and said he ran an enormous amount in the sand and then Gabe sort of pushed him into the ocean. Afterward, his tail was hanging and the vet told him it was a case of "limp tail syndrome" from experiencing the cold water after all the physical workout. I had never heard of it but the vet thinks it will heal itself. We hope so. (Wish I had a photo of Angus to post on here now).
Ps I did climb back up on my porch roof today and tarred over the new leak and cleaned the mud out of the gutter. (No wonder it was overflowing so much yesterday as the rain poured down and was coming into the porch). Now a PBS show on Dreams is on...SO interesting...
Ta Ta For Now.....
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